After each legislative session, the Washington State Labor Council, the state branch of the national AFL-CIO trade union federation, releases a scorecard tallying how much, in their estimate, legislators voted for or against workers on specific legislation.

This year, WSLC judged legislators by their votes on bills that included things like establishing labor protections for domestic workers, prohibiting noncompete agreements, and the millionaire’s tax.

Readers can see for themselves how their state house reps and senators measured up according to the Labor Council’s standards. Out of a possible 100 points, numerous Democrats, labor’s traditional allies in Olympia, scored perfectly, while a handful of Republicans scored zeroes.

But, as always, there were outliers: The highest-scoring Republican legislator in WSLC’s 2026 scorecard is Rep. Sam Low of Legislative District 39, which covers rural Snohomish and Skagit counties. The Labor Council scored his voting record this session as a 67 for his votes for the child care workforce standards board, banning noncompetes, academic employee bargaining, cybersecurity bargaining, domestic worker protections, mental health apprenticeships, workers’ comp/medical care, and interpreter bargaining.

Low founded the Republican Labor Caucus last year alongside fellow Republican Rep. Suzanne Schmidt of Spokane Valley, who also scored high for a Republican this year, 50 points. Low’s efforts even won him an endorsement in 2024 from the Washington Public Employees Association, though it didn’t hurt that Low’s opponent was, in their words, a “far-right, anti-union politician.”

Low told The Stranger he meets with labor partners weekly during legislative sessions and during the offseason.

“Labor issues/bills should not be a partisan issue,” Low writes in an email. “I am proud of the strong labor vote I have, and the pro-labor worker bills I have sponsored. I still have room to grow and improve, and I appreciate the patience the Washington State Labor Council and other labor groups have shown to me along the way. I look forward to continuing my work for nurses, carpenters, first responders, laborers, hotel workers, prison workers, childcare workers, and the many other labor groups in the months and years to come.”

As for the lowest-scoring Democrat, that honor goes to Rep. Amy Walen, who represents the Eastside communities of Bellevue, Redmond, and Kirkland. The Labor Council scored Walen 50 points—17 points lower than Low. The Labor Council did not appreciate Walen’s votes on immigrant worker protections, AGO investigator authority, domestic worker protections, collective bargaining, workers’ comp/medical care, and the millionaire’s tax.

The Stranger reached out to Walen for comment, and has yet to receive a reply.